moral/ethical dilemma

[Holly]

During the last week of December 2010, we admitted my wife to the hospital for severe abdominal pain, went well was discharged before New Years.

 

Two weeks later she called the business office of the hospital to ask for hardship application to see if they would reduce the bill a bit. She was told by the person she talked to that insurance had not paid off yet and to wait so they would know the actual amount.

 

We got the bills from the specialists we saw right away and made payments on them.

 

Fast forward to December 2011, was at a birthday party for granddaughter, when my wife's ex-husband pulled me aside and asked if I knew anything about the phone calls he was getting from the hospital.

 

Called the hospital and found out we owed them for the stay. Had never got a statement from them and they had turned it over to collections. Apparently there was an old address in the computer system that they sent the bills to.

 

Called the hospital found out what was going on, got the hardship app, filled it out, sent it in. In the meantime the so called collection people were harassing us. The hospital did grant us a reduction in the bill. Tried to deal with collections, offered them 50%, was refused. Called the hospital back and asked them what the final balance was, with the reduction. Was given a number, much less than what I thought is should have been, asked twice if that was right and the final amount, was told yes. Sent a check for the amount. Now collections is still trying to get the difference of the reduction.

 

Now I think that it should be paid in full, but they just say they made a mistake and I still owe the difference.

 

Should I pay the difference or let it go to court and air their dirty laundry?

 

Sorry about length, but this is really starting to eat me up. Hope see some logic on this.

 

Thanks Daryl

[GAWildKat]

The best advice is talk to an attorney for some free advice, for a small fee they may even send a letter to the collection agency with proof that the bill was indeed paid to the original debt holder.

[darthandy]

Was it their own collection department or a third party? If it's a third party agency, then they will collect whatever amount was given to them by the hospital unless the hospital advises them in writing that the amount has changed (and you should get a copy). Unfortunately, if you don't have the deal in writing, there is a good chance you'll have to pay the full amount. The financial laws may differ a bit crossing the border, but usually, agreements have to be in writing otherwise it's considered as not having happened. Verbal agreements are very difficult to endorse and usually require lawyers and lots of money spent to settle that type of problem.

Hope it all works out well for you.

 

Andy

[Holly]

Called attorney friend, a judge here, said he would rule against them if it was in his court, but he has to recuse himself on this one.

 

In house collections is what it sounds like because the got the reduced amount very quickly, but they think they are third party.

 

Nothing in writing I only got an itemized statement after I begged for it, they stated that they don't send out statements.

 

We are about $600.00 apart now.

 

Thanks

Edited April 14, 2012 by Holly
added info

[dacheedah]

I as a practice will not pay a collection agency but only the person I owe a debt to. I am now fighting with a hospital who says that the insurance company recalled funds paid for my wife's surgery two years ago saying she was not covered. They sent the funds back without speaking to us, our eob shows they paid and I have a certificate showing that in fact we were covered for a period beyond the date services were provided.

 

my reason to explain that is I have no cause of action against the collection agency but under insurance law I have a cause of action against the hospital and insurance company.

 

If your daughter has a receipt it should show paid in full and if she entered into a contract with them and they accepted and cashed the funds it is their bad.

[flb_78]

Never pay a reduced settlement unless you have a copy in writing showing that it's paid in full, otherwise it's your word vs their word and they have all the paperwork.

[Flyinfool]

The "reduced rate" is the most effective collection scheme there is.

They can and will agree to anything over the phone. As soon as you tell them to send you a written copy of the new deal, the deal is off. Unfortunately it is very common to lie over the phone to the debtor. The collection agency gets a percentage of anything they collect, even a partial collection. The can even send you an unsigned letter and will deny it later claiming that you typed it up yourself. Do not deal with someone that calls you, get a persons name, company name and number to call back. You should be able to google the info to see if it is the hospital or a collection agency You want to deal only with the hospital, the collection agency does not have authority to change your contract with the hospital.

 

As you talk to them get all agreements in writing and signed by someone with the authority to make the deal or the deal does not exist.

[Holly]

Well guys, got a response to the message I left on their facebook page. First the marketing director left a message back on facebook, then called me , told her the complete story. She then said it sounded like a bunch of errors on the hospital part and was going to talk to the head of the billing dept. The director of billing called me yesterday and apologized and said the bill would be considered paid in full and the collections dept would be called off. They are to send me a letter that shows the bill is paid in full also.

 

At least some one there has some common sense and didn't think I was trying to pull a fast one.

 

Then last night I see a news report of a woman who sued a collection agency and won a 10 million judgement against them. To bad the agency will never pay it tho.

 

I really am thinking about a way to record phone conversations if this happens again.

[OB-1]

Glad everything worked out for you!

 

:backinmyday:Several years ago a collection agency out of Rawlins, WY, started hounding me for a debt that wasn't mine. The debtor had the same last name as me, but different first names and dates of birth.

 

I sent the collection agency a letter stating that it wasn't my debt and not to contact me again. That didn't get anywhere so I called the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office and spoke with them. They contacted the collection agency and in a couple of weeks I got a letter of apology from the collection agency. Case closed, or so I thought. A couple of months later I'm served with papers saying I'm being sued by the collection agency.

 

Again, I called the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office. They contacted the collection firm and twisted their arm until they dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning that they couldn't refile the suit or a similar suit.

 

About a year later, the same collection agency put a report of a bad debt on my credit report. Again I contacted the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office and again they intervened and the collection agency retracted the report and notified all my creditors that they were in error.

 

We haven't heard from them for several years now.

 

Some of these collection agencies just hound people until they send them $$$. If I had needed to hire an attorney to handle this it would have simply been cheaper to pay the debt I didn't owe. Fortunately, the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office went after the collection agency for me.

[Flyinfool]

Glad it got sorted out.

 

If you are going to record a phone call, you must make the person on the other end aware that the call is being recorded or it is not admissable in court. That is why so many places you call have the disclaimer that the call will be recorded as part of there answering machine greeting before you even get to talk to a person.